Spent this afternoon listening to Genesis, "Seconds Out" album. Very good sound quality but amazing musicianship. Possibly my favorite live album ever. Also like Little Feat " Waiting for Columbus" and Van Morrison "Friday night in San Francisco" any other votes out there?
I second the choice of Hot August Night by Neil Diamond - electric performance with superb dynamics. Neil sounded so energetic like he could go on forever. After this, he later mellowed and his songs became too saccharine for my taste. Why and how did he change so much? That's quite a mystery. Any thoughts, anyone?
belafonte at carnegie hall. 4 sides of heaven. his beautiful voice under varying accompaniments ranging from full orchestra to a small combo to the audience participation on matilda. a perfect recording
There are some excellent suggestions--I'd add B.B. King live at the Regal. Those BBC "live" recordings, while usually great, are often really studio recordings, sometimes with overdubs. The Dire Straits and perhaps Led Zeppelin tapes are exceptions. Pretty sure the Beatles were "live in the studio" with no audience and in a very controlled situation.
I second this choice. 'At the Ryman' concert album is an amazing value to have. It is my belief that her concerts would rank as top choices of the live performances in a poll by the knowledgeable people. Pity [and crime] that her record company did not bother to issue EmmyLou's concerts on albums, they exist only as bootlegs. From her late early period there is nothing aside from 'The Last Date' and this album is actually a selected compilation of a few live recordings. I would actually rank both her two performances at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati in 1985 in the top 10 best and most valuable American concerts of all time. I tried to convince Warner Bros. to issue one of them on CD.
Jeff Buckley Live at Sin-e is, in my opinion, the best live album ever. There are many other great ones, Counting Crows live at Town Hall, and Phish Hampton Comes Alive- but Buckley was probably the greatest live performer I've ever listened to.
Umprhey's McGee "December 31st 2004 Chicago" Steve Goodman "Live Wire" Bela Fleck and the Flecktones "Live at the Quick" Allison Krauss and Union Station "live" Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder "Live at Charleston Music Hall" Antonio Forcione "Live" Robben Ford and the Blue Line
The song "Sloppy Drunk" alone is worth the price of the album (also on CD). Brillant versions of "Will Not Be Your Fool" and "Bullfrog Blues" kick it up a notch. Robert Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen" is handled like a weapon, and "Sweet Home Chicago," also by Johnson, rocks unrepentantly.
Nirvana unplugged and Pink floyd Live at pompeii...btw...someone on the first page mention that this album is only available on dvd vhs and cd...so you can add that the vinyl pressing exist...i also have one...realy scarce lp...although its not official...
The best live act I remember seeing comes down to three, Dobbie Brothers "What Were Once Vices are now Habits" @ Cameron Indoor Stadium mid 70's maybe; Luicinda Williams "West" @ Carolina Theartre, Greensboro. Kansas "Leftoverture" @ Charlotte Colusium, late 70s.
Bob Marley Live - Unquestionably one of the greatest 'live' records ever made. If you enjoy this, I'd strongly recommend Marley's 'Live At The Roxy'. Recorded in '76 (1 year after the 1st live record) and released in 2003. Curiously, this record has better sonics so from an audio POV this is the one, but the 1st one has a 'fever', it sweats, and the audience seems to be in a state of rapture! It's interesting to compare the records from this angle, pretty much the same music (although the Roxy disc is a double!) but one has pristene sonics, the other captures a moment, so which is the one to pick up? For me the answer's easy, I own 'em both! Along with a 1/2 dozen other Marley records!
In Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, only 18 albums were live albums:
Live at the Apollo by James Brown (#25) At Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers Band (#49) At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash (#88) Live at the Regal by B. B. King (#141) Alive! by Kiss (#158) Live at Leeds by The Who (#169) Happy Trails by Quicksilver Messenger Service (#189) Wheels of Fire by Cream (#203) Live/Dead by Grateful Dead (#241) Kick Out the Jams by MC5 (#290) MTV Unplugged in New York by Nirvana (#311) Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads (#345) At Newport 1960 by Muddy Waters (#348) Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young and Crazy Horse (#350) Cheap Trick at Budokan by Cheap Trick (#430) Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 by Sam Cooke (#435) Live in Europe by Otis Redding (#466) Live in Cook County Jail by B. B. King (#499)
for me, the "best" live albums don't merely replay studio tracks, but present new or dramatically re-worked material. this my own list would include live at fillmore east, quicksilver's happy trails and even stuff like joe jackson's big world and jackson browne's running on empty, all of which, i believe, are comprised of previously unreleased songs.
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